The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Caleb Williams settles in to his new Bears home
Draft’s top pick prefers taking a backseat at two-day rookie minicamp and beyond to learn the offense.
CHICAGO — In the two weeks since the Chicago Bears drafted Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick, the rookie quarterback has been a celebrity about town. He went with a group of team veterans to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field and sat courtside with wide receivers Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze at a Sky game.
He even was photographed pushing a shopping cart at a local Target, an image that popped up all over social media and made him laugh because of the funny way he was walking. Williams said he was procuring “all the small things that I needed” as he settles into his new life in the Chicago area.
Settling in with the Bears at Halas Hall, of course, has been Williams’ biggest task, and that ramped up Friday with the first practice of a two-day rookie minicamp in Lake Forest.
During the 1½-hour session, Williams threw to rookie wide receivers, including No. 9 pick Rome Odunze, and ran the offense in drills along with undrafted rookie quarterback Austin Reed. Rookie punter Tory Taylor and defensive lineman Austin Booker were the other draft picks who practiced, while offensive lineman Kiran Amegadjie, the thirdround pick out of Yale, will sit out the offseason program as he recovers from a quad injury that ended his 2023 season.
“Right now I feel pretty good,” Williams said before the session. “We’re going to have a few mess-ups probably. I’m working to eliminate those as fast as possible. But you need those things to grow and progress throughout the years.”
Williams had a head start on his adjustment to his new home.
The former USC quarterback and the Bears had the unique benefit of knowing they were going to be paired together — for weeks if not months before the draft. Bears coaches gave Williams a lot of notes about the offense during his top 30 visit to Halas Hall in April.
Since then, Williams has been working on some aspects of the offense, including cadences and drops, to get ahead before he arrived at minicamp. Bears coach Matt Eberflus called Williams’ private quarterbacks coach Will Hewlett “awesome” as he helped Williams with the new information.
Williams also has been throwing with Odunze since the pair were drafted in the first round. Odunze said he knew Williams was talented from playing against him in college.
But now he’s seeing the benefit of that on the field.
“It’s really effortless for him,” Odunze said. “He could do a lot of things that older quarterbacks may think is hard effortlessly. He continues to improve every time I see him, and he’s very smooth.
“He could throw the ball from any angle, body position, anywhere on the field, to any spot on the field. So you always
have to be ready, always have to be prepared anytime he is in the backfield. It gives you the confidence that he’s going to put it on you when you’re giving him your best on the route.”
Williams’ primary goal at minicamp is to dive into the playbook and get to a comfort level at which he can teach other rookies who might need help. He wants to continue developing that chemistry on the field with Odunze and other receivers.
And he wants to stay evenkeeled as he learns.
“Because I’m going to make mistakes, and I don’t really like mistakes and messing up,” Williams said. “And I know there’s a bunch of guys that are going to be in the same position as me. Being in that position and being even-keeled and being in control — cool, calm, collected — not only helps me but also all the other guys on the field.”
Eberflus and Bears coaches are looking at Williams’ understanding of concepts — they already have mapped out a plan through training camp of the concepts that will be taught — and operation of the offense.
“Taking the information from the meeting to the walkthrough to the practice,” Eberflus said. “Everything from breaking the huddle to getting the cadence right to adjusting the call if need be.”
Williams has a host of new coaches to help his transition: offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, passing game coordinator Thomas Brown, quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph and offensive assistants Ryan Griffin and Robbie Picazo.
Williams believes Waldron’s 10 years of varied NFL coaching experience should help him.
“Having someone like Shane that’s been in different positions with different QBs at different learning stages and things like that, it only helps me,” Williams said. “So him being in the position that he’s in and being in this offense for so long, it’s going to help me. And it’s a learning process for me, so I have to put in the work but also know that I have someone and a support team and staff around me to help me and keep growing throughout the process.”
Eventually, Williams also will have to take charge as a leader this season. But as he grows acclimated to all of the inner workings at Halas Hall, he is taking a backseat in that aspect at first.
“To be a great leader, you’ve got to learn how to follow first,” Williams said. “So right now I’m following all the vets, I’m following all the coaches. I’m listening, having both ears open and my mouth shut. Just kind of sitting back listening.
“And when I get to the point of when I learn everything, when I learn the ways of how we do it with the culture, the playbook and what the offensive line, the receivers are all doing, running backs and tight ends (are doing), then you can start taking the lead. Then you can start taking the helm of all of it and take the next steps. For right now though, I’m listening more than I’m speaking and talking, and I’m taking it one step at a time, being in the moment.”
Williams’ arrival at Halas Hall has charged this moment — about four months out from the season opener — with even more excitement than usual as the Bears offseason program begins to kick into high gear.
The Bears have one more rookie minicamp session and then will move into organized team activities this month, when Williams will become acquainted with his new team as a whole.
Eberflus said there’s a swell of energy in the building, and Williams is contributing to that vibe.
“You can really tell he’s comfortable in his own skin and he is who he is,” Eberflus said. “His light comes out from the inside. You can certainly feel that energy. He’s a 1-plus-1equals-3 guy. He’s an enhancer. He’s a guy that brings out the best in people. You can certainly feel that in him within five minutes of meeting him.”
COSTA MESA, CALIF. — Wide receiver Brenden Rice already had plenty to prove as the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. Not being selected until the 225th pick in the NFL draft two weeks ago added more fuel to the fire.
Many thought Rice would be a middle-round pick. Instead, he didn’t go until the seventh round, when the Los Angeles Chargers selected Rice, who began his career at Colorado, then spent his final two seasons at USC.
“My dad was hot,” Rice said about not going until late in the third day. “The first words he said was, ‘Time to go to work.’ He said, ‘I will be with you every step of the way.’ He said, ‘Now, I’m going to be involved in all of your workouts from now on, and we have a lot of people to prove wrong, a lot of teams that go ahead.’
“It’s going to be one hell of a story.”
Rice watched plenty of tape of his father while growing up, but he said he tries to be more physical.
“I model my game after the bigger types of receivers — the (Raiders’) Davante Adamses, the (Titans’) Calvin Ridleys, more so, or even (Tampa Bay’s) Mike Evans,” said Rice, who is 6 feet 2 and 208 pounds. “Being able to go ahead and be physical at the top of the route, create separation, or go up and make a jump-ball play, those types of plays, and be consistent for my quarterback as well.”
Instead of wallowing in what he described as a frustrating draft process, Rice is trying to look ahead. With the Chargers rebuilding at wide receiver, he will have plenty of opportunities to show he deserves a spot on the roster.
Rice showed during his two seasons at USC that he is a physical receiver and well-developed as a route runner. He led the Trojans with 12 receiving touchdowns last season along with careerhighs in catches (45) and yards (791).
Besides having Caleb Williams as his quarterback, Rice felt as if the transfer benefited his game in other areas as well.
“I felt as though, when I went to USC, my IQ just happened to take another jump to another level,” he said. “With that, I was able to go ahead and find holes into defenses, read coverages, read shadow techniques, read the DBs and what they’re going to do, watch the film and know what I’m going to get from them, and what I’m going to see on game day.”
Rice goes from Williams — whom Chicago selected with the first overall pick in the draft — to Justin Herbert. Rice is expected to be a valuable option for Herbert when working the middle of the field, especially after Mike Williams was released and Keenan Allen was traded to the Bears.
Rice was one of three receivers drafted by the Chargers. Ladd McConkey of Georgia was picked in the second round, and Cornelius Johnson of Michigan also went in the seventh round.
“Brenden has a lot of explosive plays down the field and long touchdown production — Arizona State, UCLA, Stanford, these games. He can stretch the field vertically,” Chargers assistant general manager Chad Alexander said. “He does a lot of things that you really, really like. He blocks and does a really good job.”